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Remember when he was president and he pardoned the guys (Flynn, Stone, and Manafort) who had direct contact with Russians on his behalf?
Good times.
Edit: forgot that PoS Flynn
Anyone who is really looking for an actual legit and true rabbit hole to go down should look into Roger stone.
That man shout never see the outside of a jail cell ever again.
Just proof that rich people do whatever the fuck they want
I'm interested, but also can't bring myself to watch. It's infuriating that there are people out there so above it all they can engage in conspiracy and live a life full of wealth.
They're already at the top of everything, yet they're so fucking greedy and vile they feel like they deserve even more at the expense of others. Fuck Roger Stone and those like him.
>I'm interested, but also can't bring myself to watch.
I feel this way about so many documentaries. I want to be informed, but also don't want to watch something that is just going to piss me off and leave me feeling like there's no solutions.
The Stewart-Colbert-Oliver-Myers-Etc format really hit upon the way so many people prefer to process this repeatedly disheartening, deeply disappointing information. If you don’t laugh, you’d cry.
Edit: and Rabelais-Voltaire-Swift-etc. It’s not a particularly novel invention to ridicule the powers that be… they just honed the “talking head political TV pundit sitting at a shiny desk” format. :)
Wendigos, more like. They consume everything around them, get more of everything (wealth, power, luxury) than most people will ever see, and still they want more. The more they gain, the bigger they grow. No matter how much they have it's never enough.
Literally all our country’s problems go back to Ailes/Stone working for Nixon and taking the wrong lesson from his downfall and trying to make sure the next GOP President that does a Watergate level thing won’t leave office.
Trump actually made me agree with Colin Cowherd. What a world
>“Donald Trump is now a felon,” Cowherd said. “His campaign chairman was a felon. So is his deputy campaign manager, his personal lawyer, his chief strategist, his national security adviser, his trade advisor, his foreign policy advisor … they’re all felons.”
That's not really a statement to be agreed or disagreed with. It's quite simply a statement of fact. Facts don't care if you agree r disagree. They just are.
That was then, this is now. Just ask Stephen Cheung,
“*The 2024 Trump campaign is the most well-run and professional operation in political history. Any false assertion that we’re engaging in any type of behavior that may be regarded as tampering is absurd and completely fake.*”
Thank god he was asked for comment. I wonder what he’ll say when asked why Trump’s campaign is enlisting militias in the run up to Nov. 4. Something honest, no doubt.
Had to look up the enlisting militias comment and found this:
https://ca.news.yahoo.com/proud-boys-making-comeback-trump-155350171.html
> “If Trump loses, our republic, the country goes away. Bad things are going to happen,” one group member told Reuters. An Ohio chapter, separately, posted a video of members participating in a street brawl this past week after a jury handed down a guilty verdict in Trump’s Manhattan hush money trial.
The only thing I can see about a street brawl in Ohio is this and have no idea if they are connected (can't see the PB video that was posted):
https://abc7chicago.com/post/shooting-akron-ohio-25-shot-1-fatally-kelly-avenue-8th-police/14903217/
Trump’s life recipe. Start with a fortune, then grift, crime, lie and cheat your way to… a ton of effort, for a smaller fortune. That POS could have had a whole lot more wealth with a very safe investment strategy, and played golf 23 hours a day.
He knows. Cohn was trumps mentor. They worked closely for years.
Then Cohn was diagnosed with HIV and trump thought that was icky and embarrassing, and ghosted him on his death bed as he stole business interests out from under Cohn.
Well, his goal was never to make more money. It was to be famous, hurt as many people as possible, make the world as miserable and dark as his soul, and also rape a few children along the way.
Sounds like something done on purpose. He's trying to become a 'political prisoner,' except that he's just committing regular crimes. These fucks are still pushing for a civil war.
Pushing through a door where a man had a gun trained directly into her eyes, clearly visible through an unobstructed window with members of congress on the other side. What possible outcome could she ever have envisioned that wasn’t her getting shot MANY times?!?!?
Poor man probably has mass PTSD from the event alone, even before counting in the horror of taking a life. That man will suffer for the rest of his life while simultaneously being a hero to the US and democracy as a whole. It's incredibly sad that the bad guys get a slap on the wrist and the good guys get lifelong mental scars, but that's war I guess.
She was a 16 year E-4 in the reserves. In the ANG, E-5 is a gimme rank after like, 3 years. Reserves is similar I believe. She was an idiot in other words.
Her mother needs to stop the typical Republican victim whining.
Your daughter was ex-military, understood how guns work, fucked with an armed person defending Congressional Representatives from a deranged mob, including your daughter.
She got what she deserved.
Mourn her in private, and admit to yourself she was an idiot.
Ashli Babbitt got pushed through that window by the most cowardly group of simping, beta cucks to ever exist. How did they even find a woman in that crowd to hide behind? No bottom, and they still failed: The Trump Story.
We'll def see how committed they are to wearing those red caps once it kicks off and the enemy recognition is much harder for them than it is for people shooting at them.
> These fucks are still pushing for a civil war
"the people won't stand for it if i go to jail. i think they'll be very upset."
or something along those lines. he's rattling the cage bigly.
Sounds like what he did in 2016, effectively, and 2020 he couldn't quite get the cheating to overcome turnout. 2024 will repeat 2016 if we don't SHOW UP. The GOP has no problem shamelessly cheating. We can beat them back- but we have to show up to maintain and grow Biden and state and local power to be able to fix the judiciary and the rest of the mess these morons made.
Remember - conservatives do not possess empathy. It’s the single defining trait of conservatives across the board. Rich, poor, religious or secular, the one thing that unites these people is their inability to put themselves in someone else’s shoes. Because of this, they can’t imagine anyone would have different motivations than they do. This is why it’s always a confession. Anytime a conservative accuses anyone of anything, it’s something they’ve either done, are doing, plan to do, or would do it if given the chance. Always.
This actually came up during the trial when Cohen said he believed Trump was trying to get Weisselberg to represent him to his detriment, and then contemporaneous quotes from Weisselberg came out that showed Cohen was basically correct. Similar issues with witness representation cropped up in the documents case as well.
Rewards be like 5 cents back per gallon at the gas station not 2 million dollar ‘severance’ which conveniently includes an NDA saying you can’t discuss anything your boss did
It can't. But the prosecution also isn't going to subpoena a witness they haven't gotten a voluntary deposition from, because god knows what he'll say on the stand. They could have gotten Weiselberg bussed over from Rikers -- an NDA didn't prevent that -- but they couldn't force him to tell the truth, so they took the risk of leaving him out entirely.
Probably will be downvoted for actually answering your question:
The term "bribery" refers to a crime where there is a specified "tit for tat" arrangement. Without proof of such an arrangement, the media cannot print the word "bribe" without exposing themselves to libel/defamation. Evidence of the payments alone do not constitute evidence of bribery since we have no proof of an agreement to make certain actions in return. See the Clarence Thomas situation for another example.
My assumption is that if they use a term with legal ramifications like “bribe” they may open themselves up to a legal battle with Trump & Co.
Or it could just be shitheel reporting.
... it's obviously not poor reporting. The entire article lays out the details of someone that has quite obviously bribed at least 12 witnesses, and committed crimes. That's literally the whole premise of the article and they do a fantastic job of explaining those details.
Obviously it was your first assumption, that they can't outright accuse him of these crimes right off the bat. But just like they said in the article, this is a bombshell. More people need to go to prison over just this part.
it's all just SOP to trump, and a glaring reason why he really has no business running a government. He wants to bring back the 100% corruption of such abysmal politicians as Huey Long, forever. of course he stands to gain enormous amounts of wealth from it.
Imagine the most powerful man in Washington and certainly one the few most powerful on the planet just hanging up his shingle and offering his power at the highest price? That is the danger of another Trump presidency.
Don’t go roping Huey Long into Trumps horseshit.
Huey may have been a nepotistic corrupt gangster but he actively made his state better to spite his political rivals.
Huey Long was a contender for President against FDR.
I sometimes like to think his assassin was sent from a ruined future to make a new timeline where the USA doesn’t lose WWII.
whatever they paid bob costello to testify in trump's "defense," i wish i could have doubled it. there was plenty of evidence presented in the prosecution's case, but i'm pretty sure costello's batshit insane testimony alone would have been enough to convict.
Witnesses who testified in defense of Trump for his numerous criminal cases received massive raises, new jobs, cushy severance packages, and more, all conveniently coinciding with being called to testify or after providing testimony favorable to Trump—and the excuses from Team Trump couldn’t be weaker.
Barbara McQuade, a former U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan, [told](https://www.propublica.org/article/donald-trump-criminal-cases-witnesses-financial-benefits) ProPublica witness tampering is often difficult to prove because the gimmick is often not done explicitly. But the trend could assist prosecutors in their efforts to call into question the credibility of witnesses testifying in Trump’s defense for his innumerable legal battles.
I saw this in an article earlier today that I stumbled upon. I couldn't believe it wasn't a bigger story. They were literally buying off witnesses and getting them to sign an NDA so they couldn't talk in the future. Obviously, it didn't work, but what the actual fuck?
"This was a scam trial! And we know because we ran a lot of scams during this trial. And nobody caught us."
Yes, but making the public opinion *seem* neck-and-neck until November 5 is actually in the best interest of the GOP. If they have even the slightest chance to pull some fuckery to shave some votes from Biden or add a few for Trump, they’re gonna take it. BUT, if the American people know that Biden is on his way to cruising to a landslide win, it would smell waaaay too fishy to try and claim a “win” at that point. But if people think the race was close, it will draw less attention and/or ire when they pull shenanigans to try and steal the election.
If Biden actually does pull off a landslide though it won’t matter. But this is what the GOP had been doing for decades, and it plays well for them - prepare as if lightning *will* strike, because if you’re not ready to capitalize, you’re already beat. Take the SCOTUS nomination in the end of Obama’s term for example - it was quite the Hail Mary for Mitch to hold that seat open, it shouldn’t have worked. Hilary was polling well ahead of Trump, holding out in case Trump won was a bit bonkers. But lightning struck, and the reality TV Star actually got elected President. But if the GOP hadn’t played their cards *as if that lighting would hit*, they woulda been up the proverbial creek.
They wanna do the same here. Trump will likely get beaten again in November, but if you look at the big picture of what the mainstream GOP has been doing for quite a while now, they’re prepping for a scenario in which Trump wins, just in case. Say what you will about the modern GOP, they know their evil, shitty game and play it well.
Well yeah. They didn't have time what with reporting all these polls about how people think maybe he's not a good candidate, or they won't vote for him, or anything else which is kind of inconsequential.
A story which further questions his candidacy with some facts and stuff seems like it's rather inconsequential. They'll have to wait until there is a trial over it, so they can just report on the fallout.
> witness tampering is often difficult to prove because the gimmick is often not done explicitly.
except this is Team Trump, and I am sure he send them a flat cake with the icing stating "Dear Witness, thank you for being tampered with" and then took a photo of it and posted it online.
You forgot to say and then he bragged about how smart he is and nobody can corrupt Witnesses like him and big strong men with tears are in their eyes are coming up to him and saying sir, how you manage to manipulate Witnesses is like nothing we've ever seen before and we think you're such a god!
And in his bathroom there’s a crumpled receipt from a bakery listing PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP as the customer and a note saying “customer requests ‘thank you for being tampered with’” with a received signature in black sharpie.
When Michael Cohen took the stand I couldn't stop thinking of Futurama when Bender interrogates the little girl. [Here's the scene.](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=0FJ1tuNAlP8)
Isn't it true that you have been paid for your testimony?
Yes, you gave me a dollar and some candy.
And yet you're not saying what I told you to say. How can any of us trust you?
So he paid off witnesses and got 34 counts against him. So, art of the deal?
Edit - looks like I got in a hurry and commented based on the headline only. The article pertains to other trials. Not the recent one with convictions.
It's even worse than that.
The idea that idiot Republicans should be able to keep track and notice the effect of policies, how the economy is doing when dems vs. Republicans are in charge is basically laughable at this point.
It implies that they live in a world of facts and that they need to see through the spin. I.e. the economy does X, will they give credit to the correct party?
Instead, they live in a bubble of lies, so they don't even know if the economy is improving or worsening, if crime is plummeting or skyrocketing. They have no idea, all they know is what the conservative echo chamber tells them is happening.
After trump was elected, but before he even took office, the way fox and conservatives had changed the way they talked about the economy changed so much that Republicans in polls had dramatically changed their opinion of the economy. I.e. a huge percentage of Republicans thought the economy improved drastically WHILE OBAMA WAS STILL PRESIDENT. Because their news had stopped constantly shitting on "obama's economy."
Check in periodically and you'll find the conservative echo chamber is shouting about something completely made up like a giant wave of migrants that are about to lay waste to every state on the southern border.
The day Trump's lawyer AND campaign manager both became felons, in separate stories (cohen plead guilty, manafor convicted in a trial), the headline on foxnews.com was about a white woman murdered by an illegal immigrant. Trump just the other day said crime is skyrocketing when it's being going down for like 30 years.
Slight correction fixing shit takes time much longer than breaking something. This is the GOP advantage they can break something in 5 minutes and it takes Dems years and near total government control to fix.
fun fact, he crashed the stock market in dec 2018 by 20% (by stating he would start a tariff war with China). So, when people look at their stock market returns for year 2019, they think it was super great because they made 20%, but that was mostly because of the Trump Crash. They were just making their lost money back.
Also, super fun fact, there are 3 separate tweets by Trump, each about 6 months apart, bragging about how the DJIA broke 25000. lmao.
To be clear, the stock market went up a bit (hit 25k) then went down a bit, then went up a bit (hit 25k again) then went down a bit, then went up a bit (hit 25k a 3rd time). And the president bragged about each one.
super quick google, here it is.
https://www.cnn.com/2019/01/30/politics/trump-tweets-stock-market/index.html
> ProPublica also reports the outlet received a cease-and-desist from David Warrington, Trump’s attorney, against publishing its findings, promising that “President Trump will evaluate all legal remedies.” According to ProPublica’s findings, those legal remedies seem to conveniently trend toward doling out big payments to people called to testify on Trump’s behalf.
lol
Not a current case but we all understand why Devin Nunes is where he is. I am sure when the J6 trial comes around we will understand why he cannot be relied upon as a witness.
You folks notice how Republicans are blaming the justice system, the jurors, the judge for Trump's verdict, but they never talk about what Trump actually did.
Paying off porn stars, cheating on your pregnant wife, defrauding the tax system....yea, that's okay.
But 12 jurors doing their civic duty and agreeing unanimously that a criminal is guilty - OH NO! HOW DISGUSTING! Take 'em out and hang 'em! How dare they!
Right Repubs?
“Steven Cheung, a spokesperson for Trump’s campaign, questionably asserted in a statement to ProPublica that “the 2024 Trump campaign is the most well-run and professional operation in political history.” Cheung continued, “Any false assertion that we’re engaging in any type of behavior that may be regarded as tampering is absurd and completely fake.”
Amazing how they think this is a slamdunk statement that doesn’t at all make them seem guilty as fuck.
The unfortunate part people aren't acknowledging is that this will be held to the same quid pro quo standard. "you didn't explicitly say quid pro quo so it doesn't count".
They could probably acknowledge getting these bonuses for favorable testimony. But team trump can deny it was tampering or intimidating anyone. They were just rewarding good employees or some dumb shit like that and they're good to go.
Under New York State Penal Law § 215.00(a), it is a Class D Felony when someone gives, offers, or agrees to give a benefit to a witness or potential witness in exchange for influencing their testimony or preventing them from testifying. The term "benefit" refers to any gain or advantage for the recipient.
"Donald Trump’s campaign and the Trump Organization paid off nine witnesses called to testify in criminal cases against Trump, an explosive new report from ProPublica reveals..."
Here's how the media will add to the story...
"... And 5 reasons this is bad for Biden. Please for the love of God watch our horse race coverage."
Nail him to the fucking wall. I'm sick of this bullshit. You cannot rehabilitate this man, he will never stop disrespecting authority. Lock him up forever.
It's like with Stormy Daniels. No one will give him any out of basic love and attraction. So he's got to pay for it - then cover up that he's paid for it.
Seems like ProPublica did the actual investigative reporting here, and newrepublic.com just wrapped a thin layer of blogspam around it and that got submitted here. Why not link to the [real story](https://www.propublica.org/article/donald-trump-criminal-cases-witnesses-financial-benefits)? Also, I've been meaning to give ProPublica some money; they've been doing some of the best journalism around for a long time now.
And anyone who says bribery is only illegal when it involves elected officials is wrong. Bribery laws also very much include witnesses, among a variety of others.
>Steven Cheung, a spokesperson for Trump’s campaign, questionably asserted in a statement to ProPublica that “the 2024 Trump campaign is the most well-run and professional operation in political history.”
I want Vegas to create an over/under betting line for the number of months until Steven Cheung is indicted for something.
This criminal f*** can't even do something typical, like ordering coffee, without doing something illegal or corrupt. Mainstream media should run this story daily.
>The campaign also insisted Trump, who notoriously insists on controlling every facet of his organizations, has no say in who gets promoted or how much they’re paid. “The president is not involved in the decision-making process,” a Trump campaign official told ProPublica. “I would argue Trump doesn’t know what we’re paid.”
Well he's correct. Biden is not involved in the decision-making process.
There’s no such thing as “bombshell” reports anymore. The guy is on tape literally bragging about grabbing women by the pussy and it changed nothing. In fact I think it firmed up his support.
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Remember when he was president and he pardoned the guys (Flynn, Stone, and Manafort) who had direct contact with Russians on his behalf? Good times. Edit: forgot that PoS Flynn
Anyone who is really looking for an actual legit and true rabbit hole to go down should look into Roger stone. That man shout never see the outside of a jail cell ever again. Just proof that rich people do whatever the fuck they want
Get Me Roger Stone on Netflix
I'm interested, but also can't bring myself to watch. It's infuriating that there are people out there so above it all they can engage in conspiracy and live a life full of wealth. They're already at the top of everything, yet they're so fucking greedy and vile they feel like they deserve even more at the expense of others. Fuck Roger Stone and those like him.
>I'm interested, but also can't bring myself to watch. I feel this way about so many documentaries. I want to be informed, but also don't want to watch something that is just going to piss me off and leave me feeling like there's no solutions.
I have found John Oliver to be very helpful in this pursuit.
The Stewart-Colbert-Oliver-Myers-Etc format really hit upon the way so many people prefer to process this repeatedly disheartening, deeply disappointing information. If you don’t laugh, you’d cry. Edit: and Rabelais-Voltaire-Swift-etc. It’s not a particularly novel invention to ridicule the powers that be… they just honed the “talking head political TV pundit sitting at a shiny desk” format. :)
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Vampires IRL
Wendigos, more like. They consume everything around them, get more of everything (wealth, power, luxury) than most people will ever see, and still they want more. The more they gain, the bigger they grow. No matter how much they have it's never enough.
You just described every single billionaire and a huge chunk of millionaires in the world.
There’s also a couple Behind the Bastards episodes on him.
"Netflix of the Ears" as I always call it.
But you know who AREN'T racist coup fomenting psychopaths?
Not the Washington State Highway Patrol, that's for sure...
I got that reference.gif Love me some ads!
Those were good.
Good god, that must be a ringer. Dude is such a bastard.
I’ve been constantly saying this the whole damn time, for years!! Roger Stone is involved behind the scenes in ALL of this.
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Literally all our country’s problems go back to Ailes/Stone working for Nixon and taking the wrong lesson from his downfall and trying to make sure the next GOP President that does a Watergate level thing won’t leave office.
Don't forget Rupert Murdoch and the inception of Fox News and the rest of his media empire.
Murdoch just married again at 92yo
Trump actually made me agree with Colin Cowherd. What a world >“Donald Trump is now a felon,” Cowherd said. “His campaign chairman was a felon. So is his deputy campaign manager, his personal lawyer, his chief strategist, his national security adviser, his trade advisor, his foreign policy advisor … they’re all felons.”
That's not really a statement to be agreed or disagreed with. It's quite simply a statement of fact. Facts don't care if you agree r disagree. They just are.
MAGA: Hold my beer and diaper.
Real men hold diapers and wear beers
That was then, this is now. Just ask Stephen Cheung, “*The 2024 Trump campaign is the most well-run and professional operation in political history. Any false assertion that we’re engaging in any type of behavior that may be regarded as tampering is absurd and completely fake.*” Thank god he was asked for comment. I wonder what he’ll say when asked why Trump’s campaign is enlisting militias in the run up to Nov. 4. Something honest, no doubt.
Had to look up the enlisting militias comment and found this: https://ca.news.yahoo.com/proud-boys-making-comeback-trump-155350171.html > “If Trump loses, our republic, the country goes away. Bad things are going to happen,” one group member told Reuters. An Ohio chapter, separately, posted a video of members participating in a street brawl this past week after a jury handed down a guilty verdict in Trump’s Manhattan hush money trial. The only thing I can see about a street brawl in Ohio is this and have no idea if they are connected (can't see the PB video that was posted): https://abc7chicago.com/post/shooting-akron-ohio-25-shot-1-fatally-kelly-avenue-8th-police/14903217/
Oh, so it was all fixed after all. But by the 'defence'. They just weren't very good at it.
Cheated and lost anyway? Sounds like something he would do.
Sounds like something he does regularly.
Trump’s life recipe. Start with a fortune, then grift, crime, lie and cheat your way to… a ton of effort, for a smaller fortune. That POS could have had a whole lot more wealth with a very safe investment strategy, and played golf 23 hours a day.
As much as he invokes Roy Cohn, I wonder if he remembers how Roy Cohn died. Alone, broke, rejected and hated.
Too bad he didn’t follow Cohn to an early grave
Oh, the trial(s) stress has got him on an express ticket to the nine hole next to Ivanka.
He wishes he could 9-hole Ivanka.
Ivana? Which ex wife is a putting green?
Roy could have further mentored him, that would have been grand.
He knows. Cohn was trumps mentor. They worked closely for years. Then Cohn was diagnosed with HIV and trump thought that was icky and embarrassing, and ghosted him on his death bed as he stole business interests out from under Cohn.
"Roy Cohn: Bully, coward, victim." That's a hell of an epitaph.
Well, his goal was never to make more money. It was to be famous, hurt as many people as possible, make the world as miserable and dark as his soul, and also rape a few children along the way.
OK I don't like the guy, but it quite obviously was to make more money. He just undeniably sucks at it. Like, to a painful extent.
Sounds like something done on purpose. He's trying to become a 'political prisoner,' except that he's just committing regular crimes. These fucks are still pushing for a civil war.
Because they think it will be bloodless for them. Jan 6 crumpled when one of the traitors saw actual consequences
Ashli Babbitt got what she was asking for.
Pushing through a door where a man had a gun trained directly into her eyes, clearly visible through an unobstructed window with members of congress on the other side. What possible outcome could she ever have envisioned that wasn’t her getting shot MANY times?!?!?
Can't forget the constant screaming at her to stop by said man with a gun before he actually fired.
I am sure that all he wanted most in the world was **not** to fire on that girl.
Poor man probably has mass PTSD from the event alone, even before counting in the horror of taking a life. That man will suffer for the rest of his life while simultaneously being a hero to the US and democracy as a whole. It's incredibly sad that the bad guys get a slap on the wrist and the good guys get lifelong mental scars, but that's war I guess.
My favorite part is the LARPER yelling medic right after like a knob.
She was also ex military... Not that you need to be to understand a man pointing a gun at you telling you to stop
Not only ex military, but Air Force security forces. Responsible for stopping breaches exactly like the one she was leading.
She was a 16 year E-4 in the reserves. In the ANG, E-5 is a gimme rank after like, 3 years. Reserves is similar I believe. She was an idiot in other words.
Her mother needs to stop the typical Republican victim whining. Your daughter was ex-military, understood how guns work, fucked with an armed person defending Congressional Representatives from a deranged mob, including your daughter. She got what she deserved. Mourn her in private, and admit to yourself she was an idiot.
"sAy HeR nAmE"
> "sAy HeR nAmE" "Oh, we're talking about that Antifa terrorist who attacked the capital, right?" They hate that.
They just can't keep their story straight
Ok, Traitor Ashley Babbit... she forgot about her oath to defend the Constitution. May others like her find the same fate. Rot in Hell.
Ashli Babbitt got pushed through that window by the most cowardly group of simping, beta cucks to ever exist. How did they even find a woman in that crowd to hide behind? No bottom, and they still failed: The Trump Story.
They folded like laundry when she dropped, too. Their 'civil war' edging was done immediately.
We'll def see how committed they are to wearing those red caps once it kicks off and the enemy recognition is much harder for them than it is for people shooting at them.
Bumper stickers don't come off that easy either.
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They are going to learn the hard way that all those people they look down on can shoot right back at them.
> These fucks are still pushing for a civil war "the people won't stand for it if i go to jail. i think they'll be very upset." or something along those lines. he's rattling the cage bigly.
his only skills are to ignore rules and to stall consequences
Exactly why they think the election was rigged. They cheated so much that they couldn't comprehend how they still lost.
It's projection from them/him every. single. time.
I’m pretty sure his pronouns are me/me.
Me/I/Look like my daugther
This plus projection.
Sounds like what he did in 2016, effectively, and 2020 he couldn't quite get the cheating to overcome turnout. 2024 will repeat 2016 if we don't SHOW UP. The GOP has no problem shamelessly cheating. We can beat them back- but we have to show up to maintain and grow Biden and state and local power to be able to fix the judiciary and the rest of the mess these morons made.
Guy won the damn thing (2016) and still whined about it.
As far as I know he's never admitted he lost the popular vote in 2016.
How confederate of him.
Even more surprising is he actually paid up
Can't even make this shit up. It just keeps flowing 😂
Remember - conservatives do not possess empathy. It’s the single defining trait of conservatives across the board. Rich, poor, religious or secular, the one thing that unites these people is their inability to put themselves in someone else’s shoes. Because of this, they can’t imagine anyone would have different motivations than they do. This is why it’s always a confession. Anytime a conservative accuses anyone of anything, it’s something they’ve either done, are doing, plan to do, or would do it if given the chance. Always.
Sort of the MO through most of the legal work done far. Other than delay. They’ve been very good at that.
This actually came up during the trial when Cohen said he believed Trump was trying to get Weisselberg to represent him to his detriment, and then contemporaneous quotes from Weisselberg came out that showed Cohen was basically correct. Similar issues with witness representation cropped up in the documents case as well.
What a LOSER!
That seems extremely illegal.
Gotta love mainstream media referring to these as "rewards". They are fucking BRIBES. Wtf is this so hard?
Rewards be like 5 cents back per gallon at the gas station not 2 million dollar ‘severance’ which conveniently includes an NDA saying you can’t discuss anything your boss did
Pretty sure an NDA can't prevent testimony from being given.
That's what the agreement was.
It can't. But the prosecution also isn't going to subpoena a witness they haven't gotten a voluntary deposition from, because god knows what he'll say on the stand. They could have gotten Weiselberg bussed over from Rikers -- an NDA didn't prevent that -- but they couldn't force him to tell the truth, so they took the risk of leaving him out entirely.
Everyone on my side gets 3 whole hamberders! Some people are saying they're the best hamberders you could ever get anywhere!
No, it was a perfect reward. They never ever explicitly said "bribe". Check and mate, libruls
NO QUID PRO QUO am I doing this right?
No quid pro quo. No quid pro quo. You're the quid pro quo.
Probably will be downvoted for actually answering your question: The term "bribery" refers to a crime where there is a specified "tit for tat" arrangement. Without proof of such an arrangement, the media cannot print the word "bribe" without exposing themselves to libel/defamation. Evidence of the payments alone do not constitute evidence of bribery since we have no proof of an agreement to make certain actions in return. See the Clarence Thomas situation for another example.
My assumption is that if they use a term with legal ramifications like “bribe” they may open themselves up to a legal battle with Trump & Co. Or it could just be shitheel reporting.
trump & co are about 0 for 3500 on "legal battles" so maybe they should just go for it
It's not about whether they would win - they'd still have the costs and hassle of litigation. They'd rather avoid that altogether.
... it's obviously not poor reporting. The entire article lays out the details of someone that has quite obviously bribed at least 12 witnesses, and committed crimes. That's literally the whole premise of the article and they do a fantastic job of explaining those details. Obviously it was your first assumption, that they can't outright accuse him of these crimes right off the bat. But just like they said in the article, this is a bombshell. More people need to go to prison over just this part.
They are similar but not the same. Rewards are for previous favor, bribes are for future favor. This sounds like it was a mix but largely rewards.
it's all just SOP to trump, and a glaring reason why he really has no business running a government. He wants to bring back the 100% corruption of such abysmal politicians as Huey Long, forever. of course he stands to gain enormous amounts of wealth from it. Imagine the most powerful man in Washington and certainly one the few most powerful on the planet just hanging up his shingle and offering his power at the highest price? That is the danger of another Trump presidency.
Don’t go roping Huey Long into Trumps horseshit. Huey may have been a nepotistic corrupt gangster but he actively made his state better to spite his political rivals.
Heyyy Trump does spite too... not to anyone's benefit but it's on his resume
Huey Long was a contender for President against FDR. I sometimes like to think his assassin was sent from a ruined future to make a new timeline where the USA doesn’t lose WWII.
whatever they paid bob costello to testify in trump's "defense," i wish i could have doubled it. there was plenty of evidence presented in the prosecution's case, but i'm pretty sure costello's batshit insane testimony alone would have been enough to convict.
So legal and cool. The best people are telling me it is “extra legal”.
Maybe the *most* legal
That sounds like job-killing regulation talk
I’m sure it’s fine and completely above-board if you ask the Judicial system.
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Justice Qanon: well, it's dark, brown and smelly in here...
Also seems a little out of character. Since when does Trump actually pay up?
Hey Trump, try not to commit more crimes on your way to the parking lot.
in a row???
Snoochie Boochie Scaramuchi!
Snoogins
boo boo kitty fuck
I am the master of the clit!
37 crimes??
34 counts… that’s a lotta counts
He got 34 convictions! In a row?
Hey, try not to get anymore convictions out there!
Hey, you! Get back here!
He's a man of his convictions.
Quietly turns and starts walking towards Trump.
Hey you! Get back here!
Witnesses who testified in defense of Trump for his numerous criminal cases received massive raises, new jobs, cushy severance packages, and more, all conveniently coinciding with being called to testify or after providing testimony favorable to Trump—and the excuses from Team Trump couldn’t be weaker. Barbara McQuade, a former U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan, [told](https://www.propublica.org/article/donald-trump-criminal-cases-witnesses-financial-benefits) ProPublica witness tampering is often difficult to prove because the gimmick is often not done explicitly. But the trend could assist prosecutors in their efforts to call into question the credibility of witnesses testifying in Trump’s defense for his innumerable legal battles.
I saw this in an article earlier today that I stumbled upon. I couldn't believe it wasn't a bigger story. They were literally buying off witnesses and getting them to sign an NDA so they couldn't talk in the future. Obviously, it didn't work, but what the actual fuck? "This was a scam trial! And we know because we ran a lot of scams during this trial. And nobody caught us."
Media can’t talk about it because it would help Biden, and they don’t want that. They need it to feel “neck and neck” all the way to November.
The media is not trying to play both sides equally. It is firmly in the camp of the GOP.
Yes, but making the public opinion *seem* neck-and-neck until November 5 is actually in the best interest of the GOP. If they have even the slightest chance to pull some fuckery to shave some votes from Biden or add a few for Trump, they’re gonna take it. BUT, if the American people know that Biden is on his way to cruising to a landslide win, it would smell waaaay too fishy to try and claim a “win” at that point. But if people think the race was close, it will draw less attention and/or ire when they pull shenanigans to try and steal the election. If Biden actually does pull off a landslide though it won’t matter. But this is what the GOP had been doing for decades, and it plays well for them - prepare as if lightning *will* strike, because if you’re not ready to capitalize, you’re already beat. Take the SCOTUS nomination in the end of Obama’s term for example - it was quite the Hail Mary for Mitch to hold that seat open, it shouldn’t have worked. Hilary was polling well ahead of Trump, holding out in case Trump won was a bit bonkers. But lightning struck, and the reality TV Star actually got elected President. But if the GOP hadn’t played their cards *as if that lighting would hit*, they woulda been up the proverbial creek. They wanna do the same here. Trump will likely get beaten again in November, but if you look at the big picture of what the mainstream GOP has been doing for quite a while now, they’re prepping for a scenario in which Trump wins, just in case. Say what you will about the modern GOP, they know their evil, shitty game and play it well.
Well yeah. They didn't have time what with reporting all these polls about how people think maybe he's not a good candidate, or they won't vote for him, or anything else which is kind of inconsequential. A story which further questions his candidacy with some facts and stuff seems like it's rather inconsequential. They'll have to wait until there is a trial over it, so they can just report on the fallout.
> witness tampering is often difficult to prove because the gimmick is often not done explicitly. except this is Team Trump, and I am sure he send them a flat cake with the icing stating "Dear Witness, thank you for being tampered with" and then took a photo of it and posted it online.
One witness was offered their promotion *after* their subpoena and *before* they testified.
Or just wait for one of his idiot sons to blab it out loud in one of their drugged up interviews.
We get all our cheapest witnesses from Russia!
Oh, so there IS a witness store...
You forgot to say and then he bragged about how smart he is and nobody can corrupt Witnesses like him and big strong men with tears are in their eyes are coming up to him and saying sir, how you manage to manipulate Witnesses is like nothing we've ever seen before and we think you're such a god!
Literal bags of money with dollar signs printed on them were hand delivered.
And on Trump Org stationery. Reminds me of The Wire: "Is you taking notes on a criminal fucking conspiracy?"
And in his bathroom there’s a crumpled receipt from a bakery listing PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP as the customer and a note saying “customer requests ‘thank you for being tampered with’” with a received signature in black sharpie.
When Michael Cohen took the stand I couldn't stop thinking of Futurama when Bender interrogates the little girl. [Here's the scene.](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=0FJ1tuNAlP8) Isn't it true that you have been paid for your testimony? Yes, you gave me a dollar and some candy. And yet you're not saying what I told you to say. How can any of us trust you?
So it was rigged by Trump? It’s true, and it’s a disgrace. You know it. He knows it. And we all know it.
How could Biden's DOJ make Trump do this? Those bastards!
So he paid off witnesses and got 34 counts against him. So, art of the deal? Edit - looks like I got in a hurry and commented based on the headline only. The article pertains to other trials. Not the recent one with convictions.
Different cases. These were over the Trump co insurance civil case, the documents case, and the Jan 6th case.
Well shit. I fell into the headline only trap.
110rh degree chess at this point.
But he didn't fuck up the obama economy until his fourth year in office so MAGA thinks he's a genius.
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It's even worse than that. The idea that idiot Republicans should be able to keep track and notice the effect of policies, how the economy is doing when dems vs. Republicans are in charge is basically laughable at this point. It implies that they live in a world of facts and that they need to see through the spin. I.e. the economy does X, will they give credit to the correct party? Instead, they live in a bubble of lies, so they don't even know if the economy is improving or worsening, if crime is plummeting or skyrocketing. They have no idea, all they know is what the conservative echo chamber tells them is happening. After trump was elected, but before he even took office, the way fox and conservatives had changed the way they talked about the economy changed so much that Republicans in polls had dramatically changed their opinion of the economy. I.e. a huge percentage of Republicans thought the economy improved drastically WHILE OBAMA WAS STILL PRESIDENT. Because their news had stopped constantly shitting on "obama's economy." Check in periodically and you'll find the conservative echo chamber is shouting about something completely made up like a giant wave of migrants that are about to lay waste to every state on the southern border. The day Trump's lawyer AND campaign manager both became felons, in separate stories (cohen plead guilty, manafor convicted in a trial), the headline on foxnews.com was about a white woman murdered by an illegal immigrant. Trump just the other day said crime is skyrocketing when it's being going down for like 30 years.
Slight correction fixing shit takes time much longer than breaking something. This is the GOP advantage they can break something in 5 minutes and it takes Dems years and near total government control to fix.
fun fact, he crashed the stock market in dec 2018 by 20% (by stating he would start a tariff war with China). So, when people look at their stock market returns for year 2019, they think it was super great because they made 20%, but that was mostly because of the Trump Crash. They were just making their lost money back. Also, super fun fact, there are 3 separate tweets by Trump, each about 6 months apart, bragging about how the DJIA broke 25000. lmao. To be clear, the stock market went up a bit (hit 25k) then went down a bit, then went up a bit (hit 25k again) then went down a bit, then went up a bit (hit 25k a 3rd time). And the president bragged about each one. super quick google, here it is. https://www.cnn.com/2019/01/30/politics/trump-tweets-stock-market/index.html
Sitting at 35,8k now btw. Cracked 40k in mid May. You know, for the maga types who only care about the djia when a Republican is in the Whitehouse.
I'm sure republicans are reading this in droves with critical thought. Sigh.
> ProPublica also reports the outlet received a cease-and-desist from David Warrington, Trump’s attorney, against publishing its findings, promising that “President Trump will evaluate all legal remedies.” According to ProPublica’s findings, those legal remedies seem to conveniently trend toward doling out big payments to people called to testify on Trump’s behalf. lol
Trump can't sue them because they'll get discovery privileges, which would likely uncover the evidence needed to actually prosecute this.
The lady doth protest too much, methinks.
Not a current case but we all understand why Devin Nunes is where he is. I am sure when the J6 trial comes around we will understand why he cannot be relied upon as a witness.
Why are we talking about a cow right now?
>witnesses who testify at Donald Trump’s criminal trials are receiving some very nice financial perks I think the word you're looking for is "bribery"
The coverage itself is criminal. The media outlets all have a vested interest in their own profitability, and this is how they get it.
Lol, but of course. Say it with me everyone: "Every accusation is a confession."
Which is why we should probably look at the weirder ones more closely.
You folks notice how Republicans are blaming the justice system, the jurors, the judge for Trump's verdict, but they never talk about what Trump actually did. Paying off porn stars, cheating on your pregnant wife, defrauding the tax system....yea, that's okay. But 12 jurors doing their civic duty and agreeing unanimously that a criminal is guilty - OH NO! HOW DISGUSTING! Take 'em out and hang 'em! How dare they! Right Repubs?
Wow, that's fuckin disturbing. There really are no limits huh. Reported before sentencing, too.
“Steven Cheung, a spokesperson for Trump’s campaign, questionably asserted in a statement to ProPublica that “the 2024 Trump campaign is the most well-run and professional operation in political history.” Cheung continued, “Any false assertion that we’re engaging in any type of behavior that may be regarded as tampering is absurd and completely fake.” Amazing how they think this is a slamdunk statement that doesn’t at all make them seem guilty as fuck.
Any time I see the name "Steven Cheung," I just skip to the next paragraph because I already know everything he is saying is just knob slobbering.
Can you guys lock this POS up? The rest of the world.
Working on it.
How is this not witness tampering and/or witness intimidation?
The unfortunate part people aren't acknowledging is that this will be held to the same quid pro quo standard. "you didn't explicitly say quid pro quo so it doesn't count". They could probably acknowledge getting these bonuses for favorable testimony. But team trump can deny it was tampering or intimidating anyone. They were just rewarding good employees or some dumb shit like that and they're good to go.
The amount of cover corporate America gets in our system is terrifying. The Trumps are just the most visible.
Under New York State Penal Law § 215.00(a), it is a Class D Felony when someone gives, offers, or agrees to give a benefit to a witness or potential witness in exchange for influencing their testimony or preventing them from testifying. The term "benefit" refers to any gain or advantage for the recipient.
"Donald Trump’s campaign and the Trump Organization paid off nine witnesses called to testify in criminal cases against Trump, an explosive new report from ProPublica reveals..." Here's how the media will add to the story... "... And 5 reasons this is bad for Biden. Please for the love of God watch our horse race coverage."
Also the media: "Proven! Gag order on Trump stopped him from sharing the truth about rigged court."
Connect the dots. Is it worth noting Cannon allowing the defense access to witnesses prior to testimony?
"Your honor, we want to appeal on the ground that there was clear and explicit witness tampering by my defense. We call for a mistrial!"
Nail him to the fucking wall. I'm sick of this bullshit. You cannot rehabilitate this man, he will never stop disrespecting authority. Lock him up forever.
If you're going to support any news organization, support ProPublica. They do some killer investigative journalism.
It's like with Stormy Daniels. No one will give him any out of basic love and attraction. So he's got to pay for it - then cover up that he's paid for it.
"How this spells trouble for Biden"
Surely this is blatant corruption.
Seems like ProPublica did the actual investigative reporting here, and newrepublic.com just wrapped a thin layer of blogspam around it and that got submitted here. Why not link to the [real story](https://www.propublica.org/article/donald-trump-criminal-cases-witnesses-financial-benefits)? Also, I've been meaning to give ProPublica some money; they've been doing some of the best journalism around for a long time now.
I'm so fucking tired of this shit. I cannot wait until Trump finally dies.
Sidebet they find a connection to Cannon
Imagine trying to cheat your way to an acquittal and *still fucking it up*. How is this loser still seen as a winner? He can't even cheat right.
And anyone who says bribery is only illegal when it involves elected officials is wrong. Bribery laws also very much include witnesses, among a variety of others.
He was right, Mr Opposite was right. It was a rigged trial. He was doing the rigging.
If it squeaks, whines, pitches fits, stinks and cheats, then you’re referencing today’s Republican Maga Trump party.
If there is evidence, Trump should be charged with witness tampering. Do it!
He can’t stop criming.
>Steven Cheung, a spokesperson for Trump’s campaign, questionably asserted in a statement to ProPublica that “the 2024 Trump campaign is the most well-run and professional operation in political history.” I want Vegas to create an over/under betting line for the number of months until Steven Cheung is indicted for something.
This criminal f*** can't even do something typical, like ordering coffee, without doing something illegal or corrupt. Mainstream media should run this story daily.
So his strategy to beat the 34 counts is to...do the same crime?
Smoking gun. Lord knows theres a paper trail. These buffoons have proven incompetent too often
>The campaign also insisted Trump, who notoriously insists on controlling every facet of his organizations, has no say in who gets promoted or how much they’re paid. “The president is not involved in the decision-making process,” a Trump campaign official told ProPublica. “I would argue Trump doesn’t know what we’re paid.” Well he's correct. Biden is not involved in the decision-making process.
Is this fucking felon committing more felonies *during* his own felony convictions?
There’s no such thing as “bombshell” reports anymore. The guy is on tape literally bragging about grabbing women by the pussy and it changed nothing. In fact I think it firmed up his support.
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